Breathe Deeply With Me Now
by Sandalaris
Summary: The world ended, and you know what that means; Road trip! Light hearted post-apocalypse fun.
1. A StopStart Beginning

Chapter One: A Stop-Start Beginning

**A/N: Don't expect a fast update on this. This is purely a casual story I'm making up as I go. I have no idea how long it'll be or how it will end. I only even have a vague notion of what I want to happen at some point. If that bugs you, don't bitch, don't complain, just don't read.**

**Disclaimer: Guess what I got for Christmas!...Not this show. I know, I'm just as disappointed as you.**

Fingers tightened automatically around the shotgun, green eyes scanning the empty parking lot for the noise that (she may have well imagined) had reached her ears a few seconds before. It was stupid, coming to a gas station at night, but their supply had dipped just past the "we need more gas now" point and Penny wasn't willing to risk the next town being a dry one.

"That's the last one," came the child-like voice of one part of their traveling trio, and Penny gives a quick nod, backing up the few steps needed to place the shotgun into the other woman's waiting hands as she stooped to snatch two of the five fire engine red canisters surrounding Bernadette's feet. The petite woman had virtually no upper body strength.

Placing the canisters in the open trunk and then shutting the lid, Penny stood for a few moments, eyeing the dark, seemingly empty, building before glancing briefly at the back seat, and more specifically, the man curled up asleep across the space. She hates to wake him, but the bitching out she'd receive from the lanky doctor for not getting an adequate number of R.E.M sleeping hours was nothing to the damn, near hysterical, chewing out she'd get for not notifying him of their group being temporarily separated.

The blonde ex-waitress/actress opens the back passenger door on her Volkswagen (the red vehicle has held up surprisingly well, check engine light be damned), tapping Sheldon's leg while calling his name, an insistence on his part so he'd know she was a "friendly," and the young physicist gives a jerk as he wakes.

"Bernadette and I are going to look for supplies inside," she says quietly, rising to place one hand on the top of the car as she keeps her head at eye level to the genius.

Sheldon looks past her, blue eyes scanning the building once before he gives a crisp nod. "That is acceptable." He sits up, turning to face forward and setting his sights on the velvet black view through the windshield.

She shuts the door with a soft thud before turning back to her companion. "Ready?"

A quick nod from the slightly smiling microbiologist-in-training, and Penny's reaching behind to pull the small revolver tucked into the waist band of her work skirt (and why the world had to end and send her, her new co-worker and wacky neighbor scrambling to get out of Pasadena before she had a chance to change, or even grab any of her other clothes, she'd never understand) and holding it in her hand, nose pointed downward.

The pair moved forward as quietly as possible, shotgun held diagonally across the smaller woman's body. Bernadette wouldn't use it, a natural talent for first shooter video games and paintball nights with her boys adding up to Penny being a much better marks-man than the bubbly young student, but it's amazing what a visual of being prepared does to keep others at a safe distance.

One of the door's frames is empty, the glass having been shattered, if the jagged pieces clinging to the edges like rows of teeth in an open mouth are anything to go by. Penny shakes off the image as she steps forward, olive tinted irises scanning for signs of life in the dark interior. There's no glass on the floor around the entrance, and the one-time waitress pictures someone distinctly Sheldon-like sweeping the floor with careful precision after shattering the window and she smiles slightly at the thought.

Both doors appear unlocked, and Penny reaches her left hand out to give a soft testing pull. The door swings easily towards her and she tightens her fingers, wrapping them more firmly around the handle and dragging it fully open. She leads the way, trusting Bernadette to have her back as she scans the convenience store. It's been picked over; empty racks and silent, bare coolers. The two girls split, eyes carefully scanning as they make their way towards the back, their soft steps shockingly loud in the still quiet.

It's damn near pitch black down the back hall, Penny is barely able to make out a couple of doors and she mentally curses that none of them have been able to get a hold of a flashlight.

"Penny?" She turns at the sound of the other girl's voice, seeing the tiny blonde holdup a shiny silver Zippo lighter, her shot gun transferred to rest against her left shoulder. "Will this help?" The grin on Bernadette's face is huge and Penny can't stop the curving of her own mouth in response.

"Where'd you get that?"

The smaller woman flips the top, thumbing coming out, flicking the igniter and a small flame appearing as she answers, "Behind the register. Must've missed it in the scramble for the cigarettes. Also found some Tylenol packets." Penny grins at the flame, golden-green eyes drinking in the soft glowing light.

Bernadette steps closer and Penny can just make out the green cannabis leaf imprinted on the front, surrounded by what looked to be smaller bits of the same foliage. Not really her style, but she wasn't going to complain about a new light source, or finally being able to keep Sheldon from insisting that he can use a flint stone to create a campfire, further proof in her mind that knowing how something works, and the mechanics of it, are no match for actual experience, and Sheldon is no Boy Scout.

The tiny tongue of flame flickers as they move, Penny noting the unisex sign on the first door, the word "Restroom" printed below in chipped black plastic and the pass it in favor of the next. Ignoring the "Employees Only" warning, Penny reaches out her unoccupied hand to slowly open the door, surprised when she finds it gives her a bit of resistance before popping open. She squints at the lock in the dim light, noting the worn nature of the door jam and handle.

They enter what was probably some combination of break and storage room, shelves a jumbled mess on the floor and what appears to be a counter along one side. Bernadette's feeble light casts shadows, revealing a strange shape that has Penny dropping down and tugging on a bit of plastic and cardboard tucked into a corner, her companion kneeling beside her, weapon placed across her feet for easy access.

"Jackpot," she whispers as she pulls the half empty case of what appears to be Gatorade into the open. She shoots the other woman a large grin, seeing Bernadette's bright eyes in the soft glow. She snatches up the case under one arm, and a quick exploration of the rest of the room revealing nothing of use.

They step carefully from the room, Bernadette closing the lighter, extinguishing the flame, and slipping the Zippo into a pocket to better hold her firearm in both hands. The two women pause, taking a moment to allow their eyes to adjust before heading for the front. They're half way across the parking lot when a noise has Penny stopping, gun up suddenly and aimed in the direction she swore she heard foot falls. Her pretty blonde co-worker is at her back, shot gun cocked and facing the opposite direction.

She hears her car door open to her left as two men come around the building, their own weapons in hand. They seem surprised, one even stumbling back slightly before their own weapons are up and pointing.

"We were just leaving," she shouts, not wanting more complications than necessary. She takes a side-step towards her vehicle, feeling Bernadette following her moves like a shadow.

She can see the older of the two gentlemen in the moonlight, weighing up the options before shouting a quick, "Alright."

Narrowed green eyes never leave the sight of the two unexpected guests as she moves steadily towards the red Volkswagen. She doesn't want to think of them as dangerous, they probably weren't before, but she's seen the movies, desperate times push people in unthinkable ways. Hell, six months ago if you told her she'd be driving around the country with her neurotic neighbor and a girl she'd knew for less than a single shift carrying guns, she'd have laughed and probably humored them long enough to grab her bat.

The once aspiring actress tightens her grip on the Gatorade pack, signaling to Bernadette to get to the car first, and the other woman follows her lead and moves around the nose of the vehicle. Penny had given her the spare key shortly after California had fallen into the Pacific and it became obvious that power wasn't going to magically restore itself any time soon, and the perky woman fished it from her pocket now as she shoved the shotgun into the still standing Sheldon's arms.

"Get in," Penny hissed, waiting until her companions were safely in the vehicle before reaching behind her and opening the passenger door, she had to take the nose of her revolver off the gentlemen to shut it, but by then the other woman had the car started and ready for the moment Penny's door shut, tossing the Gatorade in the back as she moves.

"Well," stated Sheldon from his position in the backseat, she'll get an ear full for that she suspects, "that was exciting, but as I do not hear gun shots I am thinking those gentlemen are not thinking of overtaking us for our provisions and mode of transportation."

"No," Penny answered, staring behind them as if she could make out shapes in the dark, "I don't think they are, but better to be safe than sorry."

"You are correct," he states, back ramrod straight in the seat behind the driver's, which, Penny noted absently as she turned to face forward once more, was still far enough back that Bernadette was perched on the edge to reach the pedals. "And in light of that fact, perhaps we could pull over to allow a rearranging of our seating positions." And before Penny could so much as open her mouth to reply, he quickly adds, "Shotgun!" A cocky half smirk covers his features and Penny rolls her eyes. He proceeds to hold up the Remington that Bernadette had deposited into his hands earlier, his grin turning whimsical.

She cuts in before he can explain his joke, "Go ahead and pull over, Bernadette." She shifts her own weapon around as the blonde does as she asks, preparing to get in the backseat and let Sheldon have 'his spot,' (because even an apocalypse can't stop Sheldon from being Sheldon) and her eyes catch on it. She knows she has five bullets in the six chamber revolver, knows it's a .45, all surprising bits of knowledge from the tall doctor currently carefully unbuckling his seat belt. And instead of his usual _"I'm a physicist with a working blah blah universe blah" _ather inquires on how he knew so much about firearms he gave a simple _"I'm a Texan," _like it explained everything.

She opens her door and stepping out she's surprised to see that Bernadette is doing the same, Sheldon already making his way around the trunk.

"I'm going to get some sleep," she says with a grin as she catches Penny's look, and she's not exactly sure, but she thinks the her co-worker is lying to her, but she doesn't question it as she nods and makes her way to the driver's side. The vehicle is still running as Penny slides in, hearing Bernadette in the back making herself comfortable and her lanky companion settling into the passenger side. She waits for everyone to get situated before pulling back onto near empty highway. Abandoned vehicles litter the free-way like animal carcasses, most people having been considerate enough to pull over, but Penny still has to keep an eye out for the occasional jerk who felt the need to push their automobile every last inch it could go on the asphalt.

Her fingers itch to turn on the headlights, and she knows it must kill Sheldon to refrain from mentioning the safety hazard, but they learned that lesson at the New Mexico border.

Bernadette is asleep, the sound of her soft breathing filling the car before Sheldon speaks up.

"Do you think we will find the others?"

It's not the first time he's asked, but the question has come less over their two month journey, and Penny isn't sure how it is she became their appointed leader in all this, but she's long accepted the role. Taking a steadying breath through her nose, she carefully places her facial expression before turning slightly to look at the man next to her.

"I'm not sure, sweetie." One hand comes out to touch his wrist, thumb rubbing soothing circles. "But we won't stop looking." She puts both hands back on the wheel, eyes back on the road before her as they drive into the night.

**A/N: I know Penny's car dies at some point, but I prefer this way. And again, I'm not trying to be canon-compliant. I've seen sporadic episodes from random seasons. This is purely for fun, and I'm not going to break my back trying to make sure everything adds up "just right." That being said, I won't purposely ignore canon (names will still names, and character traits will still be character traits) I just won't follow TBBT time-line and may occasional change things to better suit my whim.**


	2. Here There Be Monsters

Chapter Two: Here There Be Monsters

**A/N: Probably should have said this last chapter, but chances are, if I go with any ship(s) for this little experiment, it'll be Sheldon/Penny and possibly Howard/Bernadette. Consider yourself warned. **

**WARNING! Boring chapter ahead, but it...explains things, if that helps. I swear the next chapter will get more action/interesting.**

The silence stretches on between them, and Penny is finding her thoughts turning darker and darker. "Put on your phone on, would you?"

Long fingers reach into the satchel, pulling out an iPhone and plugging the adapter connected to her car lighter. The radio and signals had long since died, but all three of them had clung to their phones for familiarity purposes until they'd become nothing more than MP3 players with games.

The soft sounds of _In My Life_ fill the vehicle, turned low as to let the girl in the back sleep, and Penny has a moment where the words register sharply within and her heart threatens to jump into her throat before she wrenches her focus from them, letting the music wash over her and provide a kind of background noise to her driving.

"Do we have a map for this area?"

He reaches back into his bag, pulling out the burnt atlas book they'd salvaged from some Wal-Mart in Utah (Penny itched to get her hands on the idiot who set such a valuable place on fire), flipping to the New Mexico maps. Half the damn thing was too damaged to read, but it had come in handy when they'd gotten their act together and realized they had goals, a destination.

Long fingers flip through the worn and battered booklet, pausing for a moment before turning back a few pages. His blue eyes flow down the map, following the inked adaptation of the current highway her Volkswagen is heading down, before his mouth turns down slightly in disappointment.

"I'm afraid we're past any discernable markings." He flips through, one finger tucked into the map of southern New Mexico, reminding Penny of comic books and bartered car rides, before settling on a new page. "And it appears that the only salvageable map of Texas is of the eastern portion. Which doesn't help us in our current position, but should prove useful later on."

She nods, blonde pony tail bouncing lightly, and feels a touch of uneasy at thought of driving into uncharted territory. She squashes it down; they started this and made it through a whole state without a map.

"Why don't you get some sleep, sweetie?" Her voice is weary, tired and she tries to calculate how long it's been since she's last time she's gotten some shut eye (17 hours? Maybe 18), but she can sleep later.

"I would, but considering someone, Penny," he spares her a brief pointed look, "interrupted my R.E.M cycle and my sympathetic nervous system produced epinephrine in response to the 'stand-off' at the fuel station, I am quiet incapable of sleep at this time. Forewarning," he turns his face towards the blonde driver, "I will, due to my not receiving the adequate number of hours in restful slumber, most likely experience shortness of temperament at a later period in time." He pauses, taking in her blank expression before stating plainly, "I'll get cranky."

Penny's eyes shut in frustration before she's forced to open them or risk running off the road. Seven and a half weeks of constant Sheldon has both immunized her to several of the man-child's quirks, and caused a few of their more spectacular fights, but that did not mean she wanted to deal with a "cranky" theoretical physicist.

"Fine then," the blonde grits out, right hand reaching out to increase the volume just as Toby Keith starts singing about talking about himself.

* * *

_"..and this is Bernadette. She'll be shadowing you today." She gives the small woman a bright smile, her manager wishing the new girl good luck before skittering off to hide away in the back office._

_"It's all pretty simple," starts Penny, starting towards the wall holding the table chart. "You ever waitress before?" She spares a quick glance at the nervous blonde behind her, noting the tightly clasped hands held before her._

_"A little." Bernadette's voice is small and sweet sounding, making Penny think of little girl giggles and bubble gum pink. "In high school. But that was a couple years ago."_

_She gives the girl an encouraging grin. "You'll be surprised what you remember." Penny then proceeds to explain the chart, how the colors of each table matches certain people and pointing out which ones are her's before leading the other woman out onto the floor._

_Penny learns that Bernadette is a student, waitressing to pay for school, and has the fleeting thought of _another genius? _before the other woman makes a joke that has her laughing and looking past the "working on my doctorate" thing. _

_Sheldon and Leonard show up half way through her shift, just in time for lunch and Penny takes a moment to introduce her boys to the new girl, and then an extra one to explain to her germaphobic neighbor that no, Bernadette would not be handling his food, before turning to place their order with the cook._

_"He doesn't mean anything by it," she says by way of explanation once they're out of ear shot, "Sheldon doesn't really know how _not _to be rude." Bernadette just laughs, saying something about knowing others like that, and Penny seriously doubts there's anyone out there like Dr. Sheldon Cooper, but smiles at the thought._

_The radio in the break room is going on about bombs and explosions and the possibility of an earthquake. The manager leaves quickly after a hysterical call from his sister in L.A. and Penny decides as the back door swings shuts behind him that she's not going to stay. There's panic, somewhere in the part of her that's never ever wrong, and Penny grabs her purse from her locker, clocks out three hours early and starts to head out front to grab the boys. She finds wide-eyed Sheldon, sans-roommate, staring at his phone._

_"Penny," he says, voice lined with alarm and just a touch of excitement, "I believe-"_

_"Less talking, more moving. Where's Leonard?"_

_Sheldon stands automatically, following her as she heads towards the front door. "Got a call from work. Said he'd be back to pick me up in a little bit." He gives her a vacant look, muttering lightly about how inconsiderate that was in an absent way._

_It's only once she's outside that she sees Bernadette is still with her, the young woman looking confused and more than a little frightened._

_"I took the bus-..and..." Her own purse is hanging from her arm, phone in hand as her eyes flicker back and forth between Penny and what she just now notices is rising smoke in the distance._

_"Get in," is all she says, opening her driver's side door and waiting for the other two to get situated. _

_"I should call Leonard," Sheldon states, in his usual deadpan nature, but there's an added dose of fear there. "Let him know I've procured other means of transportation."_

_"That's a good idea. Tell him to meet us in Vegas."_

_He turns to her sharply, phone up to his ear, and Penny passes up the turn to their apartment, keeping to the main road as she heads for the 210._

_"Really, Penny," he's giving her his Talking To A Child voice and she wants to yell at him for not seeing it, because if she does than surely he can as well, "do you honestly think that now's a good time for a 'road trip'? The United States is clearly under some kind of attack and I believe the corr-"_

_She snaps a quick "Sheldon" his way before trying to take a calming breath and speak to him rationally. "We're getting out. Now. Before the roads get filled with cars and we're stuck here. Tell Leonard to get Howard and Raj and meet us in Las Vegas."_

_"Don't you think you're-yes, Hello, Leonard?" There's a pause, before Sheldon seems satisfied that he does in fact have his contractual best friend on the other end. "I believe Penny may be going through some sort of shock or post-tramatic-"_

_The blonde quickly grabs the phone from Sheldon's hand, ignoring his protests as she takes over the conversation, green eyes occasionally checking her rearview mirror for the continually growing dark cloud. _

_"Where are you?"_

"At the office. Have you been hearing this?"

_She can hear Sheldon's soft "Oh my Lord," on her right and she looks over to see him staring in alarm at the quickly darkening sky._

_"Yeah, I heard. Leonard, listen to me. You need to get out. Find Howard and Raj if you can then get out. Meet us in Vegas an-" There's a loud bang on the other end, followed by shouts and a cut off _"Oh. My. God." _before the phone goes dead in her hand. _

_"Leonard? Leonard!" She looks at the screen, letting out a curse before quickly shoving the phone into Sheldon's hands and swerving back onto the road. "Call him back."_

_Several tries later, all going straight to voice mail, and Penny's barking out orders to try the others. She's nearly to the turn, the one that'll take them out of California, and she's not sure why but that's where they need to be._

_"I suppose you're not going to take me home, huh?" Penny gives a little start, having all but forgotten the woman in the backseat, and she glances at her quickly, feeling a stab of guilt at the tear tracked face, mascara lines behind the stylish glasses. Bernadette forces a grin, seeing the aspiring actress's eyes in the rearview mirror, false bravo that Penny can't help but admire at the moment. "That's ok. I'd much rather go to Vegas anyhow."_

_"I'm so sorry, Bernadette," she says sincerely, her own throat thickening slightly as she gets another look at the heavens behind them. Not good. "I-..." She doesn't know what to say, seeing those expectant eyes blue-gray eyes looking to her for answers. Instead she bites her lip, tearing her gaze away from the needy one staring back at her and the darkness just behind and focuses on the road._

* * *

The lining of her car roof needs cleaning; that's her first thought upon waking up, her second is the quiet. There's no music, just the low grumble of the engine and the soft bumps of the road and Penny sits up slowly, blinking in the morning sun. _Ah, _she thinks, seeing the wacky scientist curled up, head pressed against the glass of the window and eyes shut to the world as he breaths evenly. She's pleased he's getting some sleep, mostly because this means she won't have to deal with him being irritable.

"Morning." Bernadette is bright and cheerful, even as she keeps her voice low, smiling at Penny as the ex-waitress pulls herself into a more of a sitting position.

"How long was I out?" She looks to the floor board, searching for the half-case of Gatorade thrown back the night before and finding it half shoved under the passenger seat. Only four bottles are in it, and Penny hides her disappointment, pulling one of the large bottles out and opening it.

"About six hours. I didn't want to wake you." Penny gives the other girl a grateful smile, taking a swallow of the yellow drink and wishing there was more. They're ok on water, but she doesn't know how long it'll last and can't keep relying on ransacking old stores forever. The native Nebraskan is fairly certain she could handle drinking from a stream when the time comes, but Sheldon would probably have an aneurysm at the thought.

"And how long has he been out?" Blonde hair swishes into her line of sight for a moment as she indicates to the still sleeping Sheldon.

"Two or three hours." The bubbly woman gives a giggle, smile growing in merriment. "I just looked over and he was out like a light."

Penny makes her eyes focus on the clock, mind not sharpening as quickly as she'd like without her usual morning caffeine buzz. The little green digital numbers read 6:52 and she blinks, trying to figure where they're at.

"We should avoid Austin," she utters, moments before the first green sign mentioning an exit to the state's capital shows up. It'd add a couple of hours to their trip, and by Bernadette's wide eyed look, her former co-worker knows it as well, but capitals, as well as the more major cities of the United States, had been targeted and Penny does not feel like risking her friends in what was most likely the riot filled, charred remains of the once lively metropolis. Best case scenario had them driving into another Pueblo Mall fiasco. She shakes off the memory, once more glancing at the clock, one hand coming out to hover over the man in the passenger seat before lightly shaking him.

Sheldon sits up quickly, blinking rapidly as he rearranges himself and his bag to better fit in the seat.

"It's seven," she states simply, adhering to the new schedule her OCD companion had developed to replace his previous one. "We'll reach Galveston in less than six hours." She pauses, weighing her next words carefully. She's put this off, and is tempted to do so again, but taking a deep breath she lets it out slowly as she continues, "You know, we may not find...what it is you hope to find." Sheldon stares straight ahead, his jaw tightening.

"I'm well aware of that possibility." His voice is neutral, clinical and her heart aches for him. Her left hand reaches out, fingers lightly resting on his upper arm for a moment before she withdraws, settling back into the middle seat and trying to plan what to do next. Bernadette's family is not an option, having been California natives and the usually upbeat young woman had softly rebuffed any suggestions that they may have gotten out with sad eyes. They could always travel to Nebraska, and Penny pictures the dusty lane and her mother and...

"Breakfast," she suddenly states, tearing her thoughts away from how her family home looked disappearing in her rearview mirror (because she's not sure if she can handle thinking of how it may look now), and glancing at the dash once more. They eat at seven fifteen every morning, because obsessive compulsive disorder doesn't disappear when the world goes to hell in a hand basket, the overgrown man-child having simply exchanged one set of patterns for others better fitting his new world.

"Any rabbit left?" Bernadette chirps, pulling over onto the side of the road and turning off the car.

"I believe we have enough for breakfast." Sheldon's voice was lighter, back to his version of normal as the three remove themselves from the car, the tiny blonde bringing around the key for the trunk while Penny scans the horizon for movement. She's blessed to have them, she knows this, even as she's reminded of the fact as she's handed her share of the dried meat. Who know microbiology covered food preserving?

"I'll need to hunt again before Thursday." Penny spares him a look as he continues his visual inspection of their supplies, wondering how he knows the day before admitting to herself that she's not actually surprised.

"And today would be?"

"Monday, October 6th," he states simply, finally tearing his eyes away from the trunks interior and shutting the lid with a soft thud. After a moment's pause he adds, "Two-thousand and eight." Sheldon does all their hunting, another surprising, and extremely usefully, talent that being born in Texas seemed to have bestowed upon him. Even Penny's excellent aim was near moot against the small size and speed of the more common south-west game. Humans are slower, larger, and her area of expertise. Besides, the blonde woman sleeps better at night knowing her friends are spared the blood on her hands.

Penny nods, turning back to scanning the horizon, but not before noticing Bernadette giving Sheldon a look similar to the ones she'd see on the boys' faces when studying a particularly interesting equation.

She can feel the car dip as her two companions climb aboard to sit on the trunk, supposedly after Sheldon had given the thing a thorough dusting. She hides a grin as she takes another bite, eyes catching movement to the right. Penny moves slowly, leisurely so as not to grab her friends' attention, as she focuses on the spot. Nothing else moves, but she feels uncomfortable, on edge as she waits for the other two to finish their meal.

"Let's get going," Penny declares not two seconds after Sheldon takes his final bite, and she can feel Bernadette tense slightly behind her. The other woman remains silent though, climbing into the back seat as Penny readjusts the driver's. "We've got a lot of ground to cover before we make it to Galveston."

**A/N: **_**In My Life **_**is by The Beatles. Amazing song. **_**Wanna Talk About Me **_**is the Toby Keith song mentioned. And yes, a lot of thought did go into what would be on Sheldon's play list.**

**My apologies to anyone from Pueblo, Colorado. I needed a place to have a mall scene (which will be coming out later), and popped out a map and just sort of picked at random.**


	3. Home Is Where His Spot Is

Chapter Three: Home Is Where His Spot Is

**A/N: Finally, we can get this plot rolling...well, the plot I'm making up as I go along...**

**What little research I did on Galveston, Texas (aka, Wikipedia) said it had a population just a smidge more than my home town, so yeah, I may have used that as a reference point.**

The sign welcoming them to Sheldon's hometown shows up just minutes before the first building comes into view and Penny feels her heartbeat accelerate as her stomach plummets. The area around the broken windows was black with soot, roof half caved in and its neighbors hold similar markings. Riots. This is normally the point where she turns around, because it hasn't been long enough since the first bomb dropped for people to stop destroying what they could in misguided fear, but the ex-waitress just drops her right hand to her lap, wrapping her fingers around the handle of her revolver as she steers her way around trashed vehicles and rubble. She can hear shuffling in the back, green eyes glancing in the backseat to see Bernadette moving around the shotgun for better access.

"Pass up the rifle." She keeps her voice neutral and she feels Sheldon giving her a uncomfortable look. "For looks, honey." She spares her passenger a reassuring smile as he takes his Ruger, face paling as he holds the rifle awkwardly. "You don't have to use it." But Sheldon's already giving little jerky nods of his head before Penny finishes, awkwardly settling the butt of the weapon under one arm as he settles his hands into the appropriate positions.

"Do you think anyone is still here?" pipes up their traveling companion from the backseat, breaking up the near silence (Bernadette's Android is turned down low) that had fallen over the car.

"Yes," Penny states without thought, _almost _in sync with Sheldon's "Impossible to tell without further exploration."

Bernadette gives a simple "hmm" in response, ocean-green gaze steadily eyeing the city surrounding them.

After taking a steady breath, Penny slowly takes her foot off the gas, eyes flickering down cross roads as she inquires, "Ok, Sheldon, where to?"

He gives direction methodically, mind on the destination, and Penny makes each turn carefully, eyes sharp for movement. Approaching the corner of _William St_ and _Congress,_ their blonde driver notices a man on a roof to her left, dressed in a thin shirt and jeans with a rifle held diagonally across his chest. Her breath catches for a moment, fingers tightening on the weapon instinctively as she carefully makes the left turn slowly.

Sporadic people, all heavily armed, appear along the way, watching them with unhappy and guarded expressions and Penny fights the urge to keep going until they reach the other side of town instead of slowly pulling into a neighborhood.

"Third house on the right," came the final instruction from the man beside her. She pulls up and parks, taking in the seemingly abandoned home. The white front door is open, inside dark, and Penny carefully gets out of the car waiting for her companions to follow. Sheldon stands frozen by the passenger side, blue eyes glued to his childhood home and expression blank. Shifting the weapon in her hand slightly, Penny flicks her gaze between her quiet friend and the house, her senses on high alert for the people nearby. They are being watched.

Taking a deep breath and setting her resolve, Penny closes her eyes briefly before opening them with an exhale and taking charge of the situation. "Right. Bernadette," the young girl in question turns her full attention on her, "stay here and guard the car." The tiny woman gives her a firm nod, hefting the shotgun up. "Sheldon," the doctor rips his gaze away from the house and Penny takes a moment to make sure she has his full attention before continuing, "we're going inside. Do you want me to go first?" It's an unspoken rule that she leads the way on these sort of things, but this is her friend's _home._

"I-," he pauses, blue gaze once more drawn to his childhood home and she could see the thoughts swirling behind his eyes. "Yes." She studies him for a moment longer before nodding firmly and turning towards the walk-way. His long legs allows him to catch up to her quickly before he adjusts his stride and falling into step just behind her.

Penny moves softly, left hand coming up to push the door open enough for them to slip past as olive tinted eyes scan the interior. She moves quickly, feeling Sheldon follow her like a shadow as she moves into the living room. From what she can tell in the light streaming in through the front window, the room seems fine, if empty. There's no overturned furniture, pictures still on the wall; it's as if the people had just stepped out for a bit and forgot to come back.

"Mrs. Cooper," she calls softly, eyes flickering down the hall leading to the rest of the home. It's only a few steps to cross the room, gaze flicking to her left and into the kitchen as they head towards the hall. Penny comes to an abrupt halt, hand up to her nose as she takes in the spoiled smell of milk; she'd had her fair share of expired cartons before the electricity died and dairy products became number one on the endangered species list.

From behind her Sheldon lets out a breathy "Good Lord," and she spares a glance behind her to see the slightly green tinted face of her companion.

After a brief moment of thought, Penny turns into the kitchen, ignoring the smell as she takes in the room. The kitchen is set for breakfast, empty plates and a half filled cup of juice sitting on the wooden surface. She moves around the table, Sheldon still a step behind, when she sees the overturned bowl and the rancid remains of what once was cereal over the floor. The back door is open, but unlike the front, there are gouge marks near the knob and the screen door is half off its hinges.

Unease slowly grows and Penny opens her mouth to tell Sheldon that there's no one here, that they need to leave when three figures, two with weapons raised and aimed, appear in the opening with hard eyes and predatory grins.

Her own revolver is up, green eyes narrowed as she tries to imitate the coldness in their faces, playing the role needed.

"Penny," Sheldon hisses behind her, and the one-time actress spares him a glance, noticing the armed, and rather large, man with some kind of shotgun in the window above the sink. She bites back with a curse as she realizes exactly how much they're screwed.

_Las Vegas had been a mistake. _

_Penny jerks the wheel in her hand to avoid the panicked chaos around her. They're on the edge of the city, having made it nearly to the center before the earthquake hit and the news came out that California seems to have taken some kind of vacation into the sea and people started pouring into the streets in droves. Zero to sixty in a half a block. _

_She takes a quick left, the screech of tires and the high squeal of metal connecting just seconds behind her as she twists her vehicle onto the new road. She can see Sheldon twitch slightly to her left at the crash that her sudden turn (probably) caused. Green eyes glance in the review mirror, catching sight of the destruction behind her and tries not to feel guilt as a mother and two kids climb from the wreckage._

_"What was that shaking? Was that an earthquake?" Bernadette's voice barely shakes at the question and Penny spares her a quick glance before slamming her brakes as some asshole in a Prius cuts in front of her._

_"Yes," Sheldon states bluntly as he falls into the familiarity of Lecture Mode. "I'd say The San Andres fault. However if that is the case, than seismologists have severely underestimated the magnitude that particular fault line is capable of. They estimate the average earthquake is between 2 and 3.9 on the Richter scale, which is not typically felt by humans. However that particular earthquake seemed to be closer -" Penny tunes out the crash course in earth movements, letting her companions escape into the distraction as she focuses on getting out of the city._

They're sitting in the Cooper living room, Bernadette having been brought in by a fourth gunman. She can hear Sheldon's breathing, too quick, too shallow, and Penny wants to tell him everything is going to be okay, but she bites her tongue. They're on the couch, Sheldon sitting in 'his spot' on the far right and Penny has taken the middle seat so as to be between her companions. She's not sure why, but it makes her feel better knowing they're within arm's reach.

Two of the men, both armed, stand on either side of the apparent leader, the fourth Penny assumed was searching the car. They've been searched, thoroughly, and the keys to the VW had disappeared along with their weapons.

"Which one of you is related to.." the man before them picks up some of the mail one of the others have given him, "Mary Cooper?"

"She's my mother," Sheldon says softly before Penny can silence him, nodding his head slightly at the letters in his hand. "Going through another's mail is a fed-oof." A bony elbow to the ribs cuts off the monologue and Penny shoots him a glare as her neurotic ex-neighbor glowers at her, one long fingered hand coming up to wrap around his side. "Was that entirely necessary?"

She continues her hard stare and has a brief thought that maybe an angry Sheldon is a good thing, keeps his fear at bay, but she dismisses it almost as soon as it appears.

"We just came to find his family." She's taking control of the situation, mind racing on how to get them out of this situation alive. She'd kind of like to keep the car too, but that may be reaching too far.

"Oh, I know," the leader, because what else could he be, answers with a half grin. "You came straight here," he explains.

"Well," starts the lanky boy next to her and Penny's hand twitches to cover his mouth, "we were also planning to stop by Meemaw's house on Walton St-"

A look of interest comes across the other man's face, dark eyes focusing on her friend. "Your Meemaw, she Margret Lee?"

Sheldon looks taken back for a moment, blinking in surprise before answering, "Yes."

A breath of air escapes their captor's nose, and Penny feels something in her relax even as her entire body seems to run on edge, waiting for to see where this is going.

"I know her. She and my Gran were neighbors. Baked one hellva cocoanut cream pie." One hand comes up, fingers stroking his face as he studies the three before him. "She's a good woman." He gives a sigh, a look of discomfort coming on as he glances at the floor for a moment. "Well, shit. Get John," he directs to the man to his right before turning back to them.

"Do you know where's she's at? Is she alright? Where's my mother?-" An elbow to the genius' side from Penny shuts him up.

_Not everyone they meet tries to kill them, which would be a relief if it wasn't impossible to tell who will and who won't. An old woman with a shotgun and cursing loudly at them when they pause for lunch a week into their impromptu road trip having been less of a surprise than the former gang banger who shared some of his antibacterial meds when Penny had broken out in a fever._

_"Any word on what happened?" she asks, still shivering, looking at "Dom from St. Louis" as Sheldon tries (because he's not succeeding) to start a fire for tea._

_"Naw," he replies, a shrug of the shoulders and flipping of the prescription bottle between his fingers. "Tha' big earthquake though, the one they always sayin' is gonna happen an' cut the U.S 'n half?"_

_"Are you referring to the New Madrid fault?" Sheldon provides helpfully, voice muffled through the cloth tied over the lower half of his face. If she had a room, or even an actual place, instead of the make-shift home Dom has created in an old (and sadly empty) second hand clothes store, Penny has a feeling he'd have banished her into quarantine by now. _

_"Yea', tha' one." Large arms cross his chest, brow furrowing. He reminds Penny of her brother, but that could just be her fevered brain connecting the selling of controlled substances to her brother's own foolish attempt at meth making, because the two look nothing alike. Her brother all dark hair and sun-kissed skin and Dom is thicker, head shaved bald and bursts of color from various skin art. "It happen'd. Can't even ge' over t' the other side."_

_She feels her heart ache for Leonard at his words, at the apparent physical separation now between him and his family. It grows as her thoughts turn to Raj, separated by more than a simple splitting of a country from those he loves, and Howard. She wonders if they got out, feeling her eyes prick uncomfortably and she starts to sniff._

_"Oh dear." Sheldon jerks back, fire given up on as he scrambles to a safe distance away. The treacherous tears escape as Bernadette comes forward, arm going around Penny's shoulders as she kneels besides the feverish girl._

_Penny's always hated this part of being sick, the over-emotional aspect that causes her to cry at the slightest trigger, and she allows herself to bury her head in the other woman's shoulder for just a moment as she takes a shaky breath before pushing her way._

_"Don't want to get you sick," she says by way of explanation. It's not really fair, she thinks, that she's the one to become ill to begin with. Isn't her tough corn-bred Nebraskan genes supposed to help with this sort of stuff?_

_The shorter woman pauses and Penny thinks she's not going to listen before she reluctantly pulls away, settling herself just under a foot away, arms wrapped comfortable around the knees tucked to her chest. _

_It's been a month, since California fell, since they got out and Penny hasn't let herself think of the friends they left behind. _Not us_, she thinks, glancing at the still wary Sheldon and the tired looking blonde, _me. I'm the one who decided to leave_. She doesn't feel guilty exactly, there wasn't time, but maybe failure. It isn't exactly a new feeling, but it's worse this time because this time it mattered._

_She shakes her head, keeping her eyes closed at the wave of dizziness that hits her at the movement. Half out of her mind with fever is not the time for deep, soul-searching contemplation or mentally hashing out her past failures. _

_"How long until these take effect?" she asks, blinking tired eyes and glancing at the large man across from her._

_"A day o' two." He gives another shrug, holding up the bottle and rattling it slightly. "These ain't really my uzshe." An amused smirk comes across his face and Penny and Bernadette smile at his chuckle._

_The upper half of Sheldon's face conveys his confusion and muffled "Uzshe?" reaches Penny's ears._

_"'Usual, sweetie," she says automatically, a small grin coming on as blue eyes cut to her. "It's slang used by urban youth." He pauses, seeming to think on her explanation and she makes a desperate wish that her wacky neighbor doesn't decide to start an argument over the word or launch into a lecture on slang history. Her skull starts pounding and Penny lets out a low groan as she drops her head back against the arm of the worn couch she's sitting on._

_"He'z an odd one," mutters Dom, a note of affection in his voice. "Had a brother like 'im." He moves around the couch, dropping the bottle into Penny's lap as he goes. "Crazy know-it-alls." _

_She makes a "hmm"-ing noise, feeling her eyes drooping lower, sleep slowly claiming her._

Penny is fairly certain she could kiss Meemaw right now, even having never met the woman. That must have been _really _good coconut cream pie.

"Any idea where'd they go?" She spares another glance at the genius in the passenger seat, seeing his blank expression as he studies the road before them.

They'd been let go, lightened of their five red canisters of fuel as "payment for their hospitality," and given specific instructions not to return and the information that Sheldon's family had left.

"Oh yes," he states simply, "I have several theories, but they hardly seem probable given the current state of things." She swallows down a defeated sigh. It all felt frustrating like the area _before_ square one.

Bernadette pipes up from the back, voice tired, but laced with optimism, "So where are we going now?"

It's a good question, Penny decides, and one she doesn't -can't- answer at this time. She says a simple "north," hands shifting on the steering wheel as she sends a silent prayer above and keeping her eyes on the empty highway before them.

**A/N: I looked up Melissa Rauch, and wow. Her eyes! She has gorgeous eyes, so you may see my obsessing over their description at times. (And yes, I realize that a lot of the cast has pretty eyes.)**

**Also, apparently there's an episode in which we see Sheldon's home. I haven't seen that episode so I'm making it up based on my own imagination.**


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